A/N Thank you for all the wonderful feedback! I am genuinely amazed by the sheer amount of reviews, follows and favourites that this fic has received.
"Caroline!" Klaus shouted her name desperately as he walked further and further to find her. That's when his phone rang again. It was an unknown number. He assumed it was Caroline. "Where the bloody hell are you, love?" He said angrily down the phone. He had been searching and calling her for ages and he had received no response.
"Care is fine. I saw her walking and I took her home. I'm Elena by the way." Elena Gilbert introduced herself. " Elena Gilbert, her best friend. You must be Klaus"
Klaus let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Was she okay?"
"She's totally fine." Elena said down the phone. Then, she thought again. "She wants to see you"
Klaus thanked her again and put the phone , he dialled Caroline's home phone. It rang for a few seconds before she picked it up. "Are you alright, love?" He was working hard not to let his anger show. She had wandered off and didn't bother to tell him that she was safe. He could have been at the hospital by now, checking on Rebekah. Freya had phoned again to say that Rebekah had survived but was in critical condition.
"I'm sorry, Klaus" Caroline's voice was small as if trying not to cry. She swallowed back the lump in her throat. "I was wrong to walk off like that"
Klaus softened slightly at the quiver in her voice. She seemed genuinely remorseful. But, then his face hardened. He didn't have time for this. Rebekah needed him now. "I haven't got time for this, love. Rebekah attempted suicide because of what she believed you and Enzo did. We'll talk later"
"Okay" Caroline agreed blinking back tears. "But, I am really sorry, Klaus. For what I did and to hear about Rebekah. Do you want me to come with you?"
Klaus growled slightly. "No. I'll go to see how Bekah is alone, Caroline" They exchanged brief goodbyes before putting the phone down. He headed back to his car and drove like a mad man to the hospital. He wanted Bekah to survive by any cost. He needed his sister to be fine. Now, he knew Caroline was safe he put her to the back of his mind. He still wasn't happy with her but that would have to wait. Bekah was more important at this moment. He hastily parked his car and made his way into the hospital, frantically trying to find Bekah's room. That's when he saw his family, all sitting with faces of sadness. His eyes fell on Enzo. It was his fault. It was all his fault.
"Leave him alone, Niklaus" Elijah saw Klaus grab Enzo and yank him to his feet. Klaus shoved him against the wall viciously with hate in his eyes. "Let him go" Elijah attempted to reason with Klaus who was looking murderous.
Klaus punched Enzo in the face. "You cheated on my sister. You attempted to flirt with my girlfriend" He could feel Elijah pulling him back.
"I did nothing" Enzo responded as he threw a punch at Klaus. "You just hate all the people your sister has ever dated. No one is good enough for her in your eyes"
Klaus growled angrily. "I am entitled to protect my sister" He made to attack Enzo but Elijah just held him tight.
"Protect?" Enzo let off a laugh. "You just want her to be alone. You want her to stay with your family" Enzo attempted to attack Klaus but Kol grabbed him and pulled him away.
Freya cried out. "Enough!" Tears streamed from her eyes as she watched her family. "Our sister is lying in a hospital bed close to death and you choose this time to accuse" She addressed Klaus. "And, you. You're right. No one will ever be good enough for my sister but you could at least try." She told Enzo. "We are here to support Rebekah" She sank back down to her seat tiredly. Her eyes blurred. It had been a long day and she was nearing exhaustion. Matt squeezed her hand as he pulled her closer. She sank into his comforting embrace.
"I am sorry, sister, for my behaviour. You are right" Klaus said contritely as he thought of Rebekah. His little sister with a self inflicted gunshot wound. He shuddered slightly. They needed to support Bekah. They needed to be united. "Bekah is the most important at this moment" He said with a choked voice. The lump in his throat was growing the more he thought of Rebekah.
Enzo was silent. He loved Rebekah. He tried to imagine a world without her and failed. A silent tear dropped from his eye. Rebekah hated when he and Klaus fought. When, he had initially started dating her, Klaus and him fought regularly. Klaus thought he wasn't good enough for Rebekah. But, eventually they had grown closer. Klaus began treating Enzo more like a friend. He shook away the overwhelming sadness. Bex needed him to be strong. "Yes, she is"
"Excuse me" The doctor entered the waiting room with a grim look on his face. "Miss Mikaelson requires an operation in order to seal the wound fully and extract the remaining shrapnel of the bullet. This is likely to take several hours and so we may not know if she is stable until morning. Until that time, she is not allowed any visitors and there can only be a maximum of three people staying overnight." The doctor said pointedly at the Mikaelsons. They were stubborn and had already broke the maximum six people visiting rule and scared away the nurses but he would not have them cluttering up the waiting room over night. Then, he returned to the operation theatre.
Freya did a quick head count. Herself, Matt, Henry, Elijah, Katherine, Leo, Niklaus, Kol, Davina and Enzo. There were ten of them. She noted Caroline's absence but put it down to pregnancy fatigue. She thought about who she could send home. The doctor was right. There were too many of them. "Matt, honey, you and Henry go home. I'll keep you updated" She said to Matt who looked resistant. But, he grudgingly agreed. She was right. He and Henry should go home. "You and Leo too" She turned to Katherine who agreed. That left six people. Herself, Elijah, Niklaus, Kol, Davina and Enzo. "Hopefully, the doctor will agree to six people staying"
"I'll make him agree" Klaus stubbornly said. He knew Freya would not send him, Elijah, Kol or Enzo home because they would be too resistant. Davina too as she was alone without Kol and so it made sense for her to stay.
The doctor returned. "The nurse has told me you refuse to leave" He looked at the Mikaelsons.
"There's only six of us" Freya said politely. "We all fit"
The doctor huffed. "Hospital rules. Only three people allowed to stay overnight"
"Listen, mate" Enzo stood up with fire in his eyes. "That's my girlfriend in there and I'm not leaving"
Klaus too stood up. "And, Bekah is our little sister. We will not leave" Elijah, Kol and Freya all flanked him with determined looks on their faces.
"If you insist" The doctor gave in. He knew how desperate family members were to remain with their loved ones and seeing their faces he decided he could bend the rules just this once.
Caroline was seriously worried. It had been a few hours since Klaus had called and she really hoped Rebekah would recover soon. Rebekah had been cruel to her but she didn't want her to die. She was Klaus's sister and she knew how tight their family was bound together. If Rebekah died, then Klaus would be shattered. He would never want to see her again. She had been stupid in running out of the car. Totally stupid! He was wrong to jump to conclusions but she hadn't only endangered herself. She had endangered their babies. Their babies. Not just hers. She had been selfish and was lucky that Elena had seen her and taken her home. So many bad things could have happened. She shuddered as she thought of the more dangerous consequences of her actions. Then, her mind turned back to Rebekah. Her mind was just whirling between the two and she needed to see Klaus. But, she didn't want to make things any worse. She decided to go up to bed. Maybe, when she woke in the morning everything would be okay. She tossed and turned for hours. Her bed was cold, she was uncomfortable and she couldn't sleep. Her mind was racing. She couldn't stop thinking about Rebekah, about what Klaus must have gone through when she left. He must have been panicked. She had gone missing and his sister had attempted suicide. A tear welled up as she thought about what Klaus had gone through. For her. For their babies. She decided. First thing tomorrow morning, she would phone Klaus and find out about Rebekah. Then, she needed to see him. She desperately wanted to see him. He deserved an apology from her. She had been reckless, thoughtless and stupid. She could have ruined their relationship. He may never trust her again. And, she had bleated on about how he didn't trust her. She needed to make amends. She finally fell asleep.
Klaus reached her house. He knocked forcefully two or three times before barging in. "Caroline? Caroline?"
"Klaus?" Caroline looked at Klaus. He was disheveled, his hair mussed up and his eyes bloodshot with tiredness. "Come in" She ushered him in quickly as she remembered she was still in her nightwear. It was quite literally the crack of dawn. She hoped Rebekah was fine.
Klaus was still angry with her but he was too tired to argue now. She still deserved to hear the truth. "Rebekah is in stable condition" He let out with a slight smile curving at his mouth. His little sister had responded well to the operation and he was overjoyed. "She can't have any visitors until tonight but she is fine"
"I'm so glad" Caroline threw her hands around him exuberantly. Rebekah was fine. She and their babies were fine. Then, she untangled herself from him. "I need to tell you something" Her expression turned serious.
Klaus knew what was coming. "Yes, love?"
"I am so sorry, Klaus" Caroline apologised sincerely with a lump in her throat. "I was selfish and reckless and stupid. I shouldn't have stormed off. I should have let you know I was safe" Caroline was nearly crying. "I put our children in danger and I will never forgive myself for that" A loud sob escaped her mouth.
Klaus stood there. He wanted to comfort Caroline but he was also still angry. Everything she said was the truth. But, then he did also jump to conclusions about Enzo. He could feel himself softening to Caroline's tear streaked face. He pulled her over and sat her down on the sofa. "Listen, sweetheart" He said in a measured, steady tone. He was willing himself calm. Caroline was pregnant with their children. An excess of emotion could potentially harm their children. He needed to remain calm. "You were reckless and thoughtless"
"I know and I'm sorry" She sobbed, her face turning red.
Klaus wiped her tears away gently. "And, I don't know if I can forgive you. Yet" He added. "You put yourself and our children in danger. That's something that I can't easily forgive" He said with a controlled tone. He could feel the anger subside as Caroline appeared to be genuinely apologetic for her actions.
"I don't expect you to forgive me when I won't forgive myself" Caroline said in a small voice. She seemed diminished by her sadness. She was curled up on the sofa, head buried between her knees. "But, I will regain your trust. I promise"
Klaus pulled her into a hug. "Love, I broke your trust too. I accused you and Enzo thoughtlessly and I'm sorry" He didn't want Caroline to believe it was solely her fault. He had played a part in this incident by refusing to believe her. "Maybe, we could rebuild this trust together, sweetheart"
A/N Thank you for reading! Please leave some feedback! Selena x